Acura Motorsports will enter the LMP1 class in the 2009 American Le Mans Series, company officials announced.

Acura’s entry into the most powerful and technically advanced division in ALMS will feature two Acura ARX-02a prototype sports cars developed by Honda Performance Development (HPD).

De Ferran Motorsports and Patrón Highcroft Racing will campaign the new Acura LMP1 cars, which are being designed in concert with Wirth Research in England. Testing of the new Acura LMP1 cars is scheduled for November.

Acura will also continue in the LMP2 category with the Lowe’s Fernandez team competing on the 2009 ALMS tour.

Acura entered sports-car racing in 2007 by fielding Acura-powered LMP2 prototype cars on Michelin tires for Andretti Green Racing, Highcroft Racing and Lowe’s Fernandez Racing in the 12-race ALMS series. The three-car contingent marked the first factory motorsports program in Acura’s 20-year history. De Ferran Motorsports was added to the Acura lineup in 2008.

In the past year and a half, the Acura machines, with 3.4-liter, V-8 powerplants, have scored five LMP2 class victories, as well as an overall win by Patrón Highcroft Racing and drivers David Brabham and Scott Sharp earlier this year at Lime Rock Park. Acura cars also have recorded four overall pole positions.

“Since launching the Acura American Le Mans Series program in 2007, our goal has always been to compete at the highest level of sports-car racing,” said John Mendel, Executive Vice President of Auto Operations for American Honda Motor Company, Inc. “The LMP1 class of the American Le Mans Series represents the pinnacle of sports-car racing in this country, from both a competitive and technological standpoint. As we prepare to elevate Acura to Tier One status among luxury road cars, we feel it only appropriate to make this move to the uppermost level of American Le Mans Series competition, as well.”

Source: Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

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Acura Motorsports, Racing Cars and Engines

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced a summary of automobile production, Japan domestic sales, and export results for the month of July 2008, including all-time records for production in regions outside Japan and worldwide for the month of July. Production in Japan for the month of July 2008 experienced a year-on-year increase for the first time in 11 months (since August 2007). Production in regions outside of Japan experienced a year-on-year increase for the first time in two months (since May 2008), setting an all-time record for the month of July. This includes record production in North America, the U.S., Asia, and China for the month of July.

Worldwide production experienced a year-on-year increase for the first time in three months (since April 2008), setting an all-time record for the month of July.

Total Japan domestic market auto sales for the month of July 2008 experienced a year-on-year increase for the first time in five months (since February 2008) due to strong sales of Fit and Freed.

New vehicle registrations experienced a year-on-year increase for the ninth consecutive month (since November 2007).

Sales of mini-vehicles experienced a year-on-year decrease for the fifth consecutive month (since March 2008).

Fit was the industry’s best-selling car among new vehicle registrations for the month of July 2008, and for the ninth consecutive month (since November 2007) with sales of 16,293 units. Freed was the industry’s fourth best-selling car with sales of 8,948 units.

Life was the industry’s sixth best-selling car in the mini-vehicle category for the month of July 2008, with sales of 6,567 units.

Source: Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

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American Honda Motor Co., Inc., announced that its second FCX Clarity customer, Jamie Lee Curtis, took delivery of the vehicle on July 31, 2008. Curtis and husband Christopher Guest are the second of approximately 200 customers who will begin leasing the vehicle in the United States and Japan over the next three years.

“I really wasn’t expecting it to be so luxurious,” said Curtis. “It’s luxurious, luxurious, luxurious! I love the interior layout, design and access to controls. It is user-friendly and very modern.”

Actress and children’s book author Curtis and her husband, filmmaker Guest, live in Santa Monica. They have owned other alternative fuel and hybrid vehicles and continue to seek out ways to live and advocate a greener lifestyle.

Ron Yerxa and Annette Ballester, Santa Monica residents, took delivery of the first FCX Clarity on July 25, 2008.

The FCX Clarity is a next-generation, hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle. Significant advances over Honda’s previous generation FCX include a 25 percent increase in combined fuel economy to 72 miles/kg-H2* (74 mpg GGE ) and a greater than 30 percent increase in driving range up to 280 miles*. Propelled by an electric motor that runs on electricity generated in the fuel cell, the vehicle’s only by-products are heat and water, and its fuel efficiency is three times that of a modern gasoline-powered automobile.

Source: American Honda Motor Co

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Fuel Cell Vehicles, Gasoline Powered Automobiles

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced it has signed a joint venture agreement with Oriental Holdings Bhd. (OH) in Malaysia to establish a 50/50 joint venture company, Boon Siew Honda Sdn. Bhd., in September 2008, to consolidate motorcycle production and sales in Malaysia and achieve higher customer satisfaction and efficiency.

Currently, Boon Siew Sdn. Bhd. (BSW) is responsible for wholesaling Honda motorcycle products in Malaysia and contracts the final assembly of Honda motorcycles to Kah Assemblers Sdn. Bhd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of OH.

With the new agreement, Honda will obtain 50% of the outstanding shares of Kah Assemblers Sdn. Bhd. from OH, and establish a 50/50 joint venture with OH. In January 2009, wholesale operations are scheduled to be transferred from BSW to consolidate production and sales operations with the new company. While envisioning collaboration with other Honda companies in the ASEAN region, the new company will strengthen its competitiveness and strive to provide products and services which exceed customer expectations.

The overall size of the motorcycle market in Malaysia was approximately 468,000 units in 2007 (up 6% from 2006) and is expected to reach approximately 520,000 units in 2008 (up 11% from 2007). As steady growth is expected to continue, Honda will establish a new business structure which enables Honda to quickly respond to the diverse needs of customers and further grow its motorcycle business in Malaysia.

Source: Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

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Honda Motor, Motorcycles

Honda Vietnam Company (HVN) celebrates the 5th million motorcycle to be produced in the first Motorcycle plant. To be at the ceremony are Koji Onishi, General Director of HVN, many journalists, suppliers and whole staffs of the company. The 5th million unit marked HVN’s continuous effort for more than 12 years to meet the increasing demand of Vietnamese customers. In his speech at the ceremony, Koji Onishi, General Director of HVN said that “HVN products has met the demand of customers in terms of: high quality, safety, modern & fuel economy. This is not only the proud but also the reponsibility of HVN. I do believe that we can do better to satisfy customers”.

For the recent years, HVN has continually applied the most advanced equipments of Honda in producing motorcycle models in Vietnam. By November 2006, in the First Motorcycle plant, the company had comprehensively modernized, upgraded production lines and put into manufacture many advanced machinery in order to meet the demand of raising the capacity from 800.000 unit/year to 1 million/year. Soon after that, in July 2007, HVN officially annnounced to broaden investing by building the second Motorcycle plant in Vietnam, which is supposed to focus on producing scooters and high class gear models. Carrying out those project, HVN desire to set a stable investment and well-developed business in Vietnam.

Furthermore, in order to meet with the growing demands of the Vietnamese customers, HVN had recently reinforced its model line up by adding scooters like Air Blade and CLICK and more environmental friendly model like Future Neo with PGM FI (Honda Programmed Fuel Injection). 5 million units for more than 12 years at present is a repeatedly great achievement of HVN in the area and all over the world, which helps to push HVN to be ranked among the list of the topHondamotorcycle factories globally.

Just within the first 6 months of this year, the company has had nearly 600,000 motorcycles delivered to the customers.

On the strong, sound base of the already gained achievements, HVN will continue to strike the best to become a corporate citizen, a part of Vietnam society, to share a hand in building the country to get stable developments.

Source: Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

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